Poker game variation with variable size wagers and play against a pay table

ABSTRACT

A card game is played against a pay table, wherein the player receives a partial hand that is preferably completed by community cards (but may be completed by cards dealt directly to a hand or a combination of cards dealt directly to a hand and at least one community card or wild card). After placement of an Ante wager, each player will have an opportunity to place a game wager before receiving another card for the player&#39;s hand (whether dealt directly to the player or as a community card revealed to all players). At least some or all game wagers may be an amount within a range of multiples of the player (such as 1×, 2×, 3× 4× or 5× the amount of the Ante wager). The range of wagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealt cards or community card revealed to the players.

RELATED APPLICATIONS DATA

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/938,483, titled “Six Card Poker,” filed on Sep. 10, 2004,which is a continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/864,051, titled “Player Banked Four Card Poker”, filed Jun. 8, 2004,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/152,325 filed May 20, 2002 titled: “Four Card Poker And AssociatedGames”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to wagering games, particularly wageringgames using playing cards or images of playing cards, and wagering gamesplayed on casino tables, video machines, multi-player platforms or theinternet.

2. Background of the Art

Among the successful casino card games are Let It Ride Bonus® poker,Three Card Poker® game and Caribbean Stud® poker. These games have eachachieved a high level of commercial success with different formats andattributes.

Let It Ride® stud poker is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081. TheBonus version of the game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,424. Inthis game, the player makes a wager in three parts. Three cards aredealt to each player (there may be only a single player), and two commoncards are dealt face down in front of the dealer. The player examineshis/her three cards, evaluates the likelihood of a ranked hand (e.g., atleast a pair of tens) being achieved with those three cards and the asyet unseen common cards. The player, based on judgment of thatlikelihood, may elect to withdraw the first of the three-part wager orkeep the wager at risk. Upon the player making that decision, andwithdrawing or allowing the first wager to remain at risk, a first ofthe common cards is turned face up. The player then can make anotherdecision with regard to the play of the hand and whether there is achanged potential for a ranked hand. A second portion of the three-partwager is then withdrawn or allowed to remain at risk. After thisdecision, the last common card is exposed, and the rank of each player'shand, including the common cards, is evaluated. Payments are made toeach player based on only the rank of hand achieved and the number ofwagers left on the table from the original three-part wager. As noted,at least one wager must remain, as only two parts can have beenwithdrawn. Wagers are paid off at rates (or odds), for example, of 1:1for pairs of at least 10's, 2:1 for two pairs, 3:1 for three-of-a-kind,5:1 for straights, 7:1 for flushes, 12:1 for full houses, 50:1 forfour-of-a-kind, 250:1 for straight flushes, and 1000:1 for RoyalFlushes. The specific payout odds can be varied and often casinos choosepayout tables that help them achieve a desired theoretical holdpercentage. Side bonus wagers may also be placed in which ranked handsover three-of-a-kind receive fixed or progressive bonuses, such as$25,000 for a Royal Flush. The bonus payouts and hand combinations aretypically displayed on a payout table on the table surface. The winningbonus combinations are typically a higher-ranking subset of the winningbase game outcomes.

The Three Card Poker® game (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,685,774) deals three cards to each player and three cards to thedealer, all face down. Initially one or two optional wagers may be madeby the player. One such wager is for the “Pair Plus” bonus bet, a bet onachieving a winning combination included in a payout table. Anotherwager is the game ante on which the player competes against the dealer.The Pair Plus bet in one example of the invention is a wager that thethree card hand will have a rank of at least one pair or more. The handis paid off in multiples of the bet depending upon the rank of the hand,with up to 40:1 or more paid out for three-of-a-kind. In the ante wager,if the player wants to compete against the dealer's hand (after viewingthe rank of the player's hand), an additional wager equal to one or twotimes the ante must be placed by the player. House rules typicallydictate that the amount of the Bet is 2× the amount of the Ante. Thedealer's hand is then exposed. If the dealer does not have a hand of atleast a certain qualifying rank (e.g., at least Queen high), thedealer's hand is not in play. If the player has not made the additionalwager, the ante is collected by the dealer at some point in the play ofthe game. If the player has made the additional wager, the ante is paidoff to the player if the dealer's hand is not as high a rank as theplayer's hand. If the dealer's hand has qualified, and the dealer's handis higher than the player's hand, then the ante and the additional wagerare collected by the house. If the dealer's hand qualifies (e.g., atleast Queen high) and is lower than the player's hand rank, both theante and additional wager are paid off, with multiples payable to theante wager for certain high ranking hands (e.g., straights, flushes,straight flushes, three-of-a-kind, etc.). The ranking of the variouspoker hands is different in the three card game than in five card pokergames.

In Caribbean Stud® poker, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553, a playermakes an initial ante wager, and five cards are dealt to each player andto a dealer. Players play against a dealer hand. The dealer exposes oneof the five cards in the dealer hand to influence the player. The playerdecides if the dealt player hand is of sufficient rank to competeagainst the dealer's hand. The player may fold the player's hand at thattime, or continue the game by placing an additional wager (referred toas the “Bet”) that is usually required to be twice the value of theante. The dealer's hand qualifies for active play against the Bet onlywith a rank of Ace-King or higher. If the dealer qualifies, the rank ofthe players' hands is compared with the rank of the dealer's hand.Players with hands of higher rank than the dealer's hand win both theante and the Bet. Players with hands of lower rank than the dealer'shand lose both the ante and the Bet. If an initial side bet (oftenreferred to as the Jackpot side bet) has been made by the player, rankedhands of particularly high values (e.g., at least a Flush) are paidabsolute bonus amounts or may be paid out of a progressive jackpot. Thisbonus side bet is paid whether or not the player's hand rank exceeds therank of the dealer's hand.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,100,137; 5,167,413; 5,242,163; 5,251,897; 5,322,295;5,411,257; 5,437,451; 5,636,842; and 5,820,460 (Fulton) describe gamesand apparatus in which a player may increase an initial wager afterpartial viewing of the players hand in a video gaming apparatus orcasino table card game. Only “doubling the bet” (a wager equal to theinitial ante) is literally disclosed. There are no options on the partof the player with respect to placing wagers of more than 1× the initialwager in the game.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,489,101 and 5,531,448 (Moody) describe poker games inwhich a player attempts to form a five card poker hand that has thehighest poker hand ranking. In the house banked version, all playersplay against the house and not against each other. The game is playedwith a standard fifty-two card deck. The game is played by a dealer andfrom one to seven players. Each player makes a bet and a portion of eachbet may be allocated to a progressive jackpot. The dealer deals fivecards to each player. The dealer then deals six cards as the communitycards which are arranged face down in three rows in a triangle patternon the gaming table layout. The players may discard from none to fiveunwanted cards. The dealer turns up the community cards andpre-designated groups of cards from the community cards are used foreach player to make a complete five card poker hand. The dealerdetermines the best hand each player has made according to poker handrankings. All winning hands will be paid by the dealer according to theodds listed in the pay table. When the progressive jackpot payout isused, the dealer examines the six community cards to determine if one ofthe predetermined card arrangements has occurred. Any winning payoutsfrom the progressive jackpot are distributed to the players at thetable. The method may also be played as a player banked game or as a potgame. In one version of the present invention, the dealer deals threecards to each player. The dealer then deals eight cards as the communitycards which are arranged in groups or pairs of two cards each on thegaming table layout. In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the card layout is in the format of a directional compasswith a pair of cards each at the North position, East position, Southposition and West position, respectively.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,993 (Merlino) describes a method of playing apoker-type wagering game on top of a table layout having first andsecond player locations, a plurality of betting areas associated witheach of the player locations and a community card area. The methodincludes a first player placing a wager on top of each of the bettingareas associated with the first player location. A second player placesa wager on top of each of the betting areas associated with the secondplayer location. Each player receives two playing cards. A number ofcommunity cards are dealt face down in the community card area in apredetermined pattern. The number of community cards corresponds to thenumber of betting areas in one of the player locations. The faces ofcommunity cards are exposed in succession. Each time a community card isexposed, each of the players can either fold wherein the folding playerloses a number of wagers which corresponds to the number of communitycards exposed or the players can leave all of the wagers on thecorresponding betting areas until all of community cards are exposed.Once all of the community cards are exposed, each of the playerscombines his or her pair of cards with three of the community cards toform a completed stud poker hand. The player with the highest rankinghand wins all of the wagers.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,525 (Breeding) describes a wagering card game inwhich the player makes an initial bet to participate in a base game.Prior to the play of the game, the dealer will display at least oneadditional card from the deck. After viewing this card or cards, theplayer is given the opportunity to place an additional wager which wouldqualify the player for an additional winning. By giving the player theopportunity to see at least one card in the deck, considerable insightis provided into the probabilities of certain hands being created. Thegame of the present invention utilizes a variation on standard cardgames which are easily understood and which do not involve considerabletraining and education of the players. Claim 1 recites a method ofplaying a wagering game using a deck of cards having a predeterminedrank, comprising the steps of: (a) a player placing a first wager toparticipate in a base game; (b) a dealer dealing cards; (c) the dealerintentionally displaying at least one card from the deck and discardingthat card; (d) the player placing a second optional wager after viewingthe discarded card to simultaneously participate in a second wageringgame; (e) completing play of the base game; and (f) resolving theplayer's first and second wagers, based upon said players hand,resolution of the first wager being accomplished according to thestandard rules of the base game while resolution of the second wagerbeing accomplished according to a payout scheme.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,702 (McDoniel) describes a method for playing amodified multiple betting round card game wherein a player has theopportunity to “cap” his/her bet, i.e., limit his/her risk by placing aceiling on the amount the player wishes to bet. Once a player hasinitiated a hand, the player may check, call, bet, raise, or cap duringsubsequent betting intervals while maintaining his/her eligibility towin the bets placed and forfeited by other players during the bettingintervals which the player successfully completed. The bets placed byeach player during each betting interval are kept separate and areorganized according to betting columns printed on a game table. When thehand is finished, the dealer settles all bets made during eachindividual betting interval. Beginning with the last betting interval,the dealer awards all bets placed and forfeited to the player with thestrongest hand who successfully completed the final betting interval.The dealer then settles the remaining intervals working from last tofirst. There is no description of the relative size of the wagers (tothe Ante) that may be placed, but some variation, at least downward insize, is possible. There are multiple betting intervals with the fivecommunity cards, but the players play against each other, not against apay table.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,958 (Andrews) describes a method of playing at agaming table a player-versus-pay table five-card stud poker game for upto seven players utilizing the 20 royal cards of a standard 52-cardpoker deck as a royal deck of cards with player awards based uponpredetermined amounts related to a pay table of winning five-card hands.Bet wagers are initially accepted from each player at the gaming tableup to three cards are dealt face-down to each of the occupied playerpositions at the table and up to three cards from the royal deck ofcards are dealt face-down to a dealer position at the table. Eachplayer, after viewing the dealt cards, is permitted to stand on the betwager or double the bet wager after which one of the face-down cards atthe dealer position is up-turned for use as a community card by theplayers. Each player is then permitted to stand on the hand and bets ortriple the bet wager after which the remaining face-down card or cardsat the dealer position are up-turned for use as a community card by theplayers. Each player hand is up-turned and the hand, incorporating thecommunity cards at the dealer position, is evaluated to determinewhether or not such hand is a winning hand with respect to the pay tableof winning hands with each winning hand paid off in accordance with thepay table. The “double” and “triple” of the bet wager is a repeatedone-to-one wager. The players also play against the dealer.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,081 (Bochichio) describes a card game affords eachplayer an opportunity to wager his hand as having a poker rank higher orlower than all other players. A dealer deals a first deal of one cardface down to each player followed by a second deal of one card face upto each player. Thereafter, players either wager or fold. The dealerthen proceeds to deal one card face down to all remaining players andplaces one card face up on the table as a community card available toall players. After a further round of wagering, the face down cards ofall players are exposed and a high hand winner is selected as the playerhaving the highest rank three card hand among all players. Similarly,the low hand winner is selected as the player having the best low rankthree card hand among all players. The total pot of wagers is dividedbetween the high hand and best low hand winners.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,529 (de Keller) describes a poker game played on ablackjack style table with a single dealer. The player opening thebetting is rotated for each game. The game is played with chips/countersof various denominations. At the start of each game all players place abet of equal value in their respective pots. Players then place Bet 1(the maximum and minimum value thereof being determined by the house)and each player is dealt two cards (this number may vary), face-down,and the dealer receives three cards (this number may vary) one face-upand two face-down. The three dealer's cards are community cards,referred to as the ‘flop’ and complete each player's hand. The players,at this stage know the identity of three cards and each player has theoption of discarding their first or second card, or both, face down.Replacements, face-down, are received for discards. Players may at thisstage, either ‘stand’ by making no further bets or ‘raise’ by wageringon Bet 2. The Bet 2 wager must be exactly equal in value to the amountwagered on Bet 1. When all wagers have been placed on Bet 2 the fourthcard is revealed by the dealer. Players may again either stand at thisstage or raise by wagering on Bet 3. Players are not permitted to make athird bet if they have not placed the second. The Bet 3 wager must beexactly equal in value to the amount wagered on Bet 1. When all thirdbets have been placed the dealer turns up the fifth card. Each playerreveals his/her cards and provided they show a winning hand on the listof poker rankings hands are paid according to the total stake placed atthe corresponding pay-offs/odds. The player with the highest poker handis awarded all the Pot bets; in the event of players holding identicalhands the Pot is shared. No matter how many cards constitute communitycards or how many cards are dealt to each player, the players selectfive cards to make up their hands. There is no variation in wageringallowed, and competition includes wagers against the pot and the dealer.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,118 (Poitra) describes a method of playing apoker-type game wherein the game provides the players an opportunity toincrease the amount wagered based upon two of three community cardsshown. After each player places a bet, two cards are dealt face down toeach player and three cards are dealt face down to the dealer that are“community cards”. The dealer then turns over two of the three communitycards so that they are facing up. Each player has the opportunity to“double-down”. The dealer then turns over the remaining community cardand then turns over each player's two cards. The bets are resolved byusing the three community cards in combination with each player's twocards based upon a predetermined plurality of winning card combinationssimilar to poker. The card deck is a standard 52 card deck with onejoker to make a 53 card deck. The joker is utilized only in certaincombinations as a ‘wild card.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,981 (Chobanian) describes a casino wagering gamecomprising a poker card game played with conventional playing cards,comprising: (a) first, dealing two cards face down to each player, (b)second, conducting a round of betting after the two cards have beendealt, (c) third, dealing three community cards face up, wherein eachcommunity card is usable by any player to form a five card poker hand,(d) fourth, conducting another round of betting after the thirdcommunity card has been dealt; (e) fifth, dealing one community cardface up, (f) sixth, conducting another round of betting after said onecommunity card has been dealt, (g) seventh, dealing one card face downto each player, (h) eighth, conducting a further round of betting, and(i) ninth, exposing the dealt cards to determine which player has thewinning five card poker hand, wherein each hand comprises three cardsdealt to a player plus the four community cards; said steps (a) through(I) being conducted sequentially, beginning with steps (a) andconcluding with step (i).

U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,448 describes a casino table poker game where adealer deals three cards to each player. The dealer then deals eightcards as the community cards which are arranged in groups of two each onthe gaming table layout. The card layout is in the format of adirectional compass with two cards each at the North position, Eastposition, South position and West position, respectively. At the Northposition, both cards are face down. At the East and West positions, onecard is face down and one card is face up. At the South position, bothcards are face up. Each player determines which one of the four two-cardgroups the player wishes to use to comprise his five card. The playeridentifies this selection by moving his wager to the correspondingcompass location on the player's betting spot on the gaming table layoutin front of the player. The dealer turns up the remaining communitycards and the dealer determines the best hand each player has madeaccording to poker hand rankings. All winning hands are paid accordingto the odds listed in the pay table. When the progressive jackpot bonuspayout is used, the dealer examines the eight cards of the communitycards to determine if one of the predetermined card arrangements hasoccurred. Any winning payouts from the progressive bonus jackpot aredistributed to the players at the table. Other versions of the inventionuse different community card arrangements and different numbers ofcommunity cards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A card game is played against a pay table, wherein the player receives apartial hand that is preferably completed by community cards (but may becompleted by cards dealt directly to a hand or a combination of cardsdealt directly to a hand and at least one community card or wild card).After placement of an Ante wager, each player will have an opportunityto place a game or “play” wager before receiving another card for theplayer's hand (whether dealt directly to the player or as a communitycard revealed to all players). At least some or all game wagers may bean amount within a range of multiples of the player (such as 1×, 2×, 3×4× or 5× the amount of the Ante wager).

The range of wagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealtcards or community cards revealed to the players.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a table layout 2 for a game according to one embodiment ofthe present teachings. The table layout 2 is shown with an example of 6player positions 4, with each player position 4 having a set of wagerpositions 6 comprising at least an Ante wager position 8 and three PlayBet wager positions 14. Each player position has at least a cardreceiving area 10 and the dealer position has a community card receivingarea 12. Rules of the game and payout tables are shown as optional area16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

There are at least some generic elements and combinations of elements ofplay within the scope of the game and technology disclosed. An exemplarycard game is played only against a pay table. In other forms of theinvention, additional side bets against a dealer hand are playedsimultaneously with the game against a pay table, as described below.The pay table may be against only a final hand (e.g., best 5-card handout of 5, 6 or 7 cards), or may be against intermediate hands as well asthe final hand (as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,988,643; 6,206,780;6,705,943; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/815,181, filed Mar.22, 2001; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/602,015, filed Jun. 23,2003; and Ser. No. 10/646,670, filed Aug. 22, 2003). The content of eachof the above specifications is hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

In the play of the present games, the players placing at least an Antewager (e.g., bonus, play against a dealer hand and/or jackpot wagers maybe separately placed, but need not be compulsory) and receive a partialhand. By a partial hand is meant that in the play of the game,additional cards are available or necessary to complete a final hand inthe game. The partial hand is preferably completed by community cards(but may be completed by additional cards dealt directly to a hand,dealer cards, randomly generated virtual cards, additional bonus cardsor a combination of cards dealt directly to a hand and at least onecommunity card or wild card). Community cards are cards dealt anddisplayed on the table which are used by all players in the constructionof intermediate and final hands.

After placement of an Ante wager and review of only their initialpartial hands, each player will have an opportunity to place a firstgame or “play” wager before receiving another card for the player's hand(whether dealt directly to the player, assigned as a community cardrevealed to all players or assigned otherwise such as by random displayof a virtual card). At least some or all game wagers (including thefirst game wager) may be an amount within a range of multiples that maybe chosen from the range by the player (such as within a range of 1×,2×, 3× 4× or 5× or higher times or fractional times the amount of theAnte wager). It is possible to allow the player to pass, making no wagerand yet remain in the game, but this is less preferred. The range ofwagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealt cards orcommunity card revealed to the players. For example, the first playwager may be any of 1×-5×, or only 1×-2×, and a second play wager (laterdiscussed) may be limited to the size of the first play wager actuallymade, or may again be 1×-5×, only 1×-2×, or only 1× or 2× according tothe house rules.

One series of play elements in the game described herein could bepracticed as follows. A method of playing a casino table card gameagainst a pay table comprises a player placing a first Ante wager toplay the card game against a pay table. In one example of the game,5-card poker rankings are used as the basis of constructing the paytable. The player receives an initial partial player hand of cards whichthe player views. Ordinarily the initial partial hand of cards comprisesenough cards to give the player at least a feeling or some basis forevaluating the potential quality of the final player hand. This willusually require the player to view at least 2 cards, although if no playwager is required before receiving at least a first additional cardafter receiving the initial partial hand, a single card may be initiallydealt. The player reviews the initial partial player hand and makes anelection to fold, stay with no additional wager or place an additionalwager (either preferably a compulsory wager or less preferred anoptional wager) before seeing any additional cards used to complete theinitial partial player hand. The player, after executing his decision,then views at least one first additional card from a set of additionalcards to only partially complete the initial partial player hand,forming a second partial player hand.

The additional play wager before seeing the first additional card isselected by the player from a preferred range of amounts comprising 1×,2× and 3× the Ante wager. The method would then allow viewing the atleast one first additional card as viewing a first additional orpreferably first community card. After placing the additional wager andviewing the first community card, the player makes a second election tofold, stay with no additional wager or place a second additional wagerbefore seeing any second additional card used to complete or partiallycomplete the second initial partial player hand. The second additionalwager is again preferably selected by the player from a range of amountscomprising 1×, 2× and 3× the Ante wager, although as indicated above,different ranges or limits may be imposed based upon other events orother rules, but there should still be an optional range available tothe player. Again, it is preferred that viewing the at least one secondadditional card comprises viewing a community card. After placing thesecond additional wager and viewing the second community card, theplayer makes a third election to fold, stay with no additional wager orplace a third additional wager before seeing any third additional cardused to complete the initial partial player hand. The third additionalwager is again selected by the player from a range of amounts, forexample, comprising 1×, 2× and 3× the Ante wager.

The preferred game is played with 2 initial cards in the players'initial partial hands. There may then be 3, 4 or 5 community cards, with3 community cards being preferred (as 4 and 5 cards would allow for avery high rank hand to be completed with one or two wagers stillremaining, forming a 5-card poker hand). The cards may be revealedone-at-a-time or multiple cards at a time (especially with 4 or fivecommunity cards) to control the number of play wagers that may beavailable in the game. For example, with 3 community cards, there couldbe three play wagers when cards are revealed one card at a time, or twoplay wagers when a single card is revealed before one play wager (e.g.,before the first or second play wager) and two cards are revealed beforeanother play wager (e.g., before the second or first play wager,respectively). After the hand is complete (assuming that the player hasplaced all wagers necessary to remain in the game until conclusion ofthe disclosure of all community cards), all wagers are resolved againstat least one pay table. There may be a single pay table (preferred) forall wagers, or different pay tables for each wager. The Ante wager maybe paid at 1:1 if the player remains in the game until the revelation ofthe community cards is complete, or if the player attains at least aminimum hand (which may be less than the minimum hand on a typical paytable, such as an A-K), or may be paid at the pay table rate as are theother wagers.

An example of a pay table with two initial cards and three communitycards revealed one-at-a-time could be as follows: PAY TABLE I FINAL HANDPAYOUT ODDS ROYAL FLUSH 100:1  STRAIGHT FLUSH 50:1  FOUR-OF-A-KIND 12:1 FULL HOUSE 7:1 FLUSH 5:1 STRAIGHT 4:1 THREE-OF-A-KIND 3:1 TWO PAIR 2:1PAIR OF 6'S OR BETTER 1:1

Another example of a pay table for the Ante wager and the play wagers,with two initial player cards and three community cards revealed firstone card and then both cards could be: PAY TABLE II FINAL HAND PAYOUTODDS ROYAL FLUSH 150:1  STRAIGHT FLUSH 70:1  FOUR-OF-A-KIND 15:1  FULLHOUSE 81 FLUSH 5:1 STRAIGHT 4:1 THREE-OF-A-KIND 3:1 TWO PAIR 2:1 PAIR OF6'S OR BETTER 1:1

In addition to these pay tables, as noted before, the payout for theAnte wager may be different than for the remaining wagers. In addition,there may be an automatic ante bonus payout (1× or 2×) for any initialpair in the first two cards.

The following example will show the physical steps of an exemplary playof a game of the present invention.

A game played according to the following teachings herein is referred toas Mississippi Stud™ poker, which is a casino table card game that canalso be played on a video system, a home computer, on a multiplayerplatform gaming system, as a hand-held practice game, or as a gameoffered on the internet. The game is essentially a 5-Card stud pokergame played against a pay table, with specific rules and game playelements. There is no player versus dealer competition.

EXAMPLE 1

There are four players at a gaming table. Each player places an initialAnte wager of $10, $10, $25, and $50, respectively, and the followinginitial two card hands are dealt to each player, with their initialdecisions on play wagers shown beneath the hands. In example 1, theplayers may make play bets up to 3× the Ante, according to house rules.The three (3) community cards may be dealt at this time, face down.Player 1 $10 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $25 Player 4 $50 10

10♥ 6

4

J♦ Q♦ A♥ 9

$30 (3×) Fold, no play wager $50 (2×) $50 (1×)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win onall wagers.

Player 2 will fold, as there is an extremely low likelihood of the handbeing improved.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with 2 high cards, in suit, and a basefor a straight. Player 3 places an intermediate “play” wager of 2× theAnte.

Player 4 has a decent working hand, with 2 cards above the minimum pairsneeded for a win. Player 4, however chooses to make a play wager that is1× the Ante.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving theautomatic win for player 1), the first community card is dealt, and itis a K♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in thefollowing table. Player 1 Player 3 Player 4 $10 + $10 Player 2 $10 $25 +$50 $25 + 25 10

10♥ K♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦ A♥ K♦ 9

$30 (3×) Folded $75 (3×) $25 (1×)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win onall wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with 3 high cards, in suit, and a basefor a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as ahigh pair. Player 3 chooses a play bet that is 3× the Ante.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with 3 cards above the minimumpairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet. Player 4 makes a playwager of 1× the Ante.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving theautomatic win for player 1), the second community card is dealt, and itis a 10♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown inthe following table. Player 1 $70 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $150 Player 4$75 10♦ 10

10♥ K♦ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦ A♥ K♦ 10♦ 9

$30 (3×) Folded $75 (3×) $50 (1×)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win onall wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has an excellent working hand, with 4 high cards, in suit, anda base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, aswell as a high pair. Player 3 wagers 3× the ante, hoping for a very bigpayout.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with 4 cards above the minimumpairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet. He bets 1× the Ante.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving theautomatic win for player 1), the third community card is dealt, and itis a Q♥. The hands of the players and their next awards are shown in thefollowing table. Player 1 $100 Bet Player 2 $10 Player 3 $225 Bet Player4 $125 Bet 10♦ 10

10♥ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ A♥ K♦ 10♦ K♦ Q♥ K♦ Q♥ 9

Q♥ $300 (3×) Won Folded $225 (1×) Won $0 All Bets Lost

As can be seen, Player 1 has won 3× each of his wagers (in an amount of$100) with three-of-a-kind; Player 2 lost his initial Ante wager of $10;Player 3 still won $225, even though the potential very high hand wasnot achieved; and Player 4 lost $125, as the hand did not end up with apair of 6's or higher. The 3× multiple was taken from Pay Table I above.

EXAMPLE 2

An optional format is for there to be two community cards and either awild card (the presence of which would necessitate a change in the paytable to lower payouts) or an individual additional card dealt to eachhand. In this form of the game, the player can bet up to 3× the Ante.

The game will otherwise be played similarly, using much the samebeginning cards as in Example 1. There are four players at a gamingtable. Each player places an initial Ante wager of $10, $10, $25, and$50, respectively, and the following initial two card hands are dealt toeach player, with their initial decisions on play wagers shown beneaththe hands. The two (2) community cards may be dealt at this time, facedown, and the final card for each is retained in the dealing shoe orshuffler, to be delivered after the two community cards are exposed.Player 1 $10 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $25 Player 4 $50 10

10♥ 6

4

J♦ Q♦ A♥ 9

$30 (3×) Fold, no play wager $50 (2×) $50 (1×)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win onall wagers.

Player 2 will fold, as there is an extremely low likelihood of the handbeing improved.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with 2 high cards, in suit, and a basefor a straight.

Player 4 has a decent working hand, with 2 cards above the minimum pairsneeded for a win.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving theautomatic win for player 1), the first community card is dealt, and itis a K♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in thefollowing table. Player 1 Player 3 Player 4 $10 + $10 Player 2 $10 $25 +$50 $25 + 25 10

10♥ K♦ J♦ Q♦ K♦ A♥ K♦ 9

$30 (3×) Folded $75 (3×) $25 (1×)

Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win onall wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has a good working hand, with 3 high cards, in suit, and a basefor a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as ahigh pair.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with 3 cards above the minimumpairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving theautomatic win for player 1), the second community card is dealt, and itis a 10♦. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown inthe following table. Player 1 $70 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $150 Player 4$75 10♦ 10

10♦ J♦ A♥ K♦ 10♥ K♦ Q♦ K♦ 10♦ 9

$30 (3×) Folded $75 (7×) $50 (1×)

Player 1 will make a maximum wager equal to 3× the Ante, as his hand isa guaranteed win on all wagers.

Player 2 has folded.

Player 3 has an excellent working hand, with 4 high cards, in suit, anda base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, aswell as a high pair.

Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with 4 cards above the minimumpairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet.

After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet-resolving theautomatic win for player 1), the third additional card is dealt to eachplayer's hand, and the individual cards are shown below in the table.The hands of the players and their next awards are shown in thefollowing table. Player 1 Player 3 Player 4 $100 Bet Player 2 $10 $225Bet $125 Bet 10♦ 10

10♥ 10♦ J♦ Q♦ A♥ K♦ 10♦ K♦ 6♥ K♦ 9♦ 9

Q♥ $300 (3×) Won Folded $11,225 (50×) Won $0 All Bets Lost

As can be seen, Player 1 has won 3× each of his wagers withthree-of-a-kind; Player 2 lost his initial Ante wager of $10; Player 3has won $11,225, with a straight flush achieved; and Player 4 lost $125,as the hand did not end up with a pair of 6's or higher.

If a wild card were present in the deck, either as a potential communitycard or as an individual card, the pay tables would have to besignificantly altered to accommodate the likelihood of more winninghands and higher winning hands. For example, in the above case, if thethird community card had been a wild card, Player 1 would have had aFour-of-a-kind, Player 3 would have had a Royal Flush, and Player 4would have had a Pair of Aces.

One specific mode of play of a game within the concepts described hereinincludes events where after placing an Ante wager, the players receivetwo cards face down (which they may view) and then three community cardsare dealt face down. The players may view their hands to decide thelikelihood of success of their hand against the pay table, and may foldor place a wager of from 1× to 3× the amount of the Ante wager. Afterall players at the table have acted on their individual decisions, afirst and second of the three community cards is revealed. The playersthen analyze their hands in combination with the revealed first andsecond community cards, and may again fold or place a wager of from 1×to 3× the amount of the Ante wager. After all players at the table haveacted on their individual decisions, a third of the three communitycards is revealed. The players then analyze their hands in combinationwith the revealed three community cards, and may again fold or place awager of from 1× to 3× the amount of the Ante wager. After all playersat the table have acted on their individual decisions, the third of thethree community cards is revealed. This offers the opportunity oncertain of the wagers to make wagers on hands that are known to bewinning events. It also offers an opportunity for as much as anadditional 7× the Ante to be wagered during the course of the game(1×+3×+3×).

As previously noted, the present games and rules may be played as a livecasino table card game, as a hybrid casino table card game (with virtualcards or virtual chips), on a multiplayer platform (as disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. Nos. 10/764,827; 10/764,994; and 10/764,995, allfiled on Jan. 26, 2004, which applications are incorporated herein byreference), on a personal computer for practice, on a hand-held game forpractice or on a legally authorized site on the internet.

Although specific rules, steps, numbers of cards and the like have beenpresented at various points in this disclosure, those specific examplesare not intended to limit the generic concepts disclosed and describedherein. Thos examples are not intended to be limiting, but supportive ofthe generic concepts disclosed and claimed.

1. A method of playing a casino table poker-type card game against a paytable comprising: a player placing a first Ante wager to play the cardgame against a pay table; the player receiving an initial partial playerhand of cards which the player views; the player making an election tofold, stay with no additional wager or place an additional wager beforeseeing any additional cards used to complete the initial partial playerhand; and the player viewing at least one first additional card to onlypartially complete the initial partial player hand; wherein theadditional wager is selected by the player from a range of amountscomprising 1×, 2× and 3× the Ante wager.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the additional wager is selected by the player from a range ofamounts consisting of 1×, 2× and 3× the Ante wager.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein viewing the at least one first additional card comprisesviewing a community card.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein after placingthe additional wager and viewing the community card, the player makes asecond election to fold, stay with no additional wager or place a secondadditional wager before seeing any second additional card used tocomplete the initial partial player hand.
 5. The method of claim 4wherein the second additional wager is selected by the player from arange of amounts comprising 1×, 2× and 3× the Ante wager.
 6. The methodof claim 4 wherein the additional wager is selected by the player from arange of amounts consisting of 1×, 2× and 3× the Ante wager.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 wherein viewing the at least one second additionalcard comprises viewing a community card.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein after placing the second additional wager and viewing the secondcommunity card, the player makes a third election to fold, stay with noadditional wager or place a third additional wager before seeing anythird additional card used to complete the initial partial player hand.9. The method of claim 8 wherein the third additional wager is selectedby the player from a range of amounts comprising 1×, 2× and 3× the Antewager.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein the additional wager isselected by the player from a range of amounts consisting of 1×, 2× and3× the Ante wager.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein resolution of allwagers are made after the player's hand is complete with five cards. 12.A method of playing a casino table poker-type card game exclusivelyagainst pay tables comprising: a player placing a first Ante wager toplay the card game against a pay table; the player receiving an initialpartial player hand of cards which the player views; the player makingan election to fold or place an additional wager against the pay tablebefore seeing any additional cards used to complete the initial partialplayer hand; and the player viewing at least one first additional cardfrom a set of additional cards to only partially complete the initialpartial player hand; wherein the additional wager is selected by theplayer from a range of amounts comprising 1×, 2× and 3× the Ante wager.13. The method of claim 12 wherein the additional wager is selected bythe player from a range of amounts consisting of 1×, 2× and 3× the Antewager.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein viewing the at least one firstadditional card comprises viewing a community card.
 15. The method ofclaim 14 wherein after placing the additional wager and viewing thecommunity card, the player makes a second election to fold or place asecond additional wager against the pay table before seeing any secondadditional card used to complete the initial partial player hand. 16.The method of claim 15 wherein the second additional wager is selectedby the player from a range of amounts comprising 1×, 2× and 3× the Antewager.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein viewing the at least onesecond additional card comprises viewing a community card.
 18. Themethod of claim 7 wherein after placing the second additional wager andviewing the second community card, the player makes a third election tofold or place a third additional wager against the pay table beforeseeing any third additional card used to complete the initial partialplayer hand.
 19. The method of claim 8 wherein the third additionalwager is selected by the player from a range of amounts comprising 1×,2× and 3× the Ante wager.
 20. The method of claim 12 wherein the game isplayed on an apparatus selected from the group consisting of a hand-heldgame apparatus, a personal computer, a video gaming apparatus,multi-player platform and the internet.